The Angel and The Gargoyle
by char-tomio
Summary: AU. He has long been hardened by sorrow and the eternal sadness engraved in his fate while she stands watch, forever watching him die inside as he gets hurt. She could not come down and comfort him, lest he dies.. A story told by two versions of the same people, living in different worlds. Has character death.


**The Angel and The Gargoyle**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Hetalia. Just borrowing it for a while.**

**a/n: This is one of the numerous cases where I don't understand what I'm writing anymore. I got it from uh, making my own manga that deals with mythical creatures and I have two characters like Russia and Liechtenstein.. Oh well. Enjoy.**

He was there. The man bestowed with the eternal task of guarding the large majestic cathedral. His silver hair and purple eyes shone in the moonlight. With his unusual large build and the occasional faucet pipe clenched between his gloved hands, his appearance was near horrific. And because of that, he stayed alone in the darkness of the night, guarding the church. The only thing that was left was to drown his sorrows in vodka and watch the visitors from above. He didn't dare come down- the first, and last time he did, he was doused with ice water. Ice water so cold that his heart immediately froze and he swore to never, ever come down from the tower. He accepted that happiness was only meant for the normal ones. Day by day, like a statue, he would sit at the end of the beautifully carved balcony railing and watch in silent desperation. He was not afraid to fall of. Why? Because he believed he was made of stone, and no wind would knock him down. What he didn't know was that his heart was also slowly turning into stone.

Ivan Braginski was nothing more than a living gargoyle, the stone demon created to keep the devil away.

And above him, there stood an angel. A beautiful angel whose shiny green eyes followed his every move since birth. Her heart went out to him. But of course, he could not see her. She knows him very well, not as a demon, but the man he really is. She sees him smiling at the first sun rays that softly hits his face, eating bread with the birds from his eternally open window and talking to shadows, whispering to himself longingly in his want, his need to have friends. The best she could do was to flicker the candlelight and make the shadows dance, at least telling him that his 'friend' is responding.

But to no avail.

He's accepted reality. He's accepted the truth, or what life had made him think was the truth. Happiness was for the normal ones. His was entitled to isolation. He couldn't even cry. Because monsters don't cry.

He has long been hardened by sorrow and the eternal sadness engraved in his fate while she stands watch, forever watching him die inside as he gets hurt. She could not come down and comfort him, lest he dies.

* * *

She had always saw him alone on the rooftop. As far as she knew him, he was a happy man, or at least what he let everyone see. He had many friends, or at least what he called them. Friends who would immediately run and hide from the mention of his name.

He'd beat someone into staying. That was how lonely he was.

And on the successive days she's observed him, she noticed that everyday, he'd stand closer and closer to the edge..

* * *

As his heart was fully encased in stone, of course, it did not stop there. The stone started to corrupt his mind. Days went by and she never saw him smile again. He'd wrap himself in his sack cloth blanket in the most secluded place in the cathedral. He would have starved to death if it weren't for the priest who delivered his meals every day. And when he never touched them, he would talk him out of it. Ivan would pretend to be normal again, as not to worry him. But then, he'd throw his food outside the balcony.

His sisters would sometimes be there for him- his little sister at the least whom Ivan tried his hardest to evade. Probably one of the reasons he stays alone in the rooftop where no one could see him. Throughout lunch time, he stares at the gaps of the wire fence. And she silently stood behind the door for fear of the unthinkable.

* * *

_And then, he decided to jump._

* * *

He smiled as he set one foot in front of the other, each step making him grin, not because he was happy, but because his mind of stone was slowly crumbling into dust.

With trembling hands, he grasped the gaps and heaved himself up the wires, finding footholds.

* * *

_She then intervened._

* * *

His mind was freed of the stone.

* * *

His fingers slipped from the wires.

* * *

_"Don't jump, bitte."_

* * *

"Who are you?"

Bright green eyes lit up to answer him. There was silence.

"Come to me."

Cautiously, he approached her.

She was a translucent figure standing some distance away from him. A head of golden wheat hair, clad in a white nightgown. Natural grace that made her look like she was hovering above the balcony railing. He couldn't help but notice how easily he towered over her.

But something inside him knew was that she was much stronger than himself.

She held out both of her hands. "Come to me, bitte."

This time, there was no hesitation.

* * *

Ivan walked over. Lilli stayed rooted to her spot, fearing that any motion would cause him to claw his way back to the wire fence.

He recognized her to be his classmate's sister. The meek little girl who always stayed by his brother's side. The overprotected piece of jewel guarded by a madman. Of all people to catch him in this act, why her? Talking to young girls without coming off as intimidating was difficult. Either way, everyone found him intimidating.

Or so he thought.

"Don't be afraid, bitte." she held out her arms.

Between the both of them, he was the one who was intimidated.

* * *

All his fear, all his worries, all his doubts are gone as the stone of his heart crack away, revealing the flesh that proves that he is, like everyone else, human.

And gullible as most humans go.

As his large frame is wrapped around her small arms, his soul is eased out from his body.

* * *

He at first hesitates, but it is she who comes to him. His instincts tell him to run away, but his mind his frozen. As soon as he presses herself against his body and the contagious heat of her body spreads to his cheeks, the door swings open.

* * *

He crashes down the height of the tower. Before his eyes close, he feels warm. Even as he falls, his face is peaceful, something which no one, not even himself, had ever seen before. The angel standing above the railing now cradles a tiny, flickering flame. He had been too eager, too starved to think. His only chance of receiving love, a warm embrace. And now, that warm embrace had taken his life in return.

Tears stream down her cheeks.

She would rather end it like this for him. To end it, knowing that he is at least loved, rather than seeing him die by his own actions. Alone. Unnoticed. Unloved.

The angel of death spreads her wings, cradling dearly the little soul in her hands. Before that, she takes one last glance at the corpse.

He was beautiful.

And she loved him.

Loved him enough to end his pain herself.

Love comes in many forms, after all.

* * *

When her brother burst into the rooftop, he let her go and without any qualms, continues his ascent on the wire fence. She attempts to catch up to him, but it was too late.

All that's left is to watch him fall to his death beyond the fence.

In a split second where their eyes meet for the last time, and he is at the other side of the fence, he smiles. He smiles at her reassuringly, telling her it's what he wanted. He thanks her for giving him an idea on what it feels to be loved.

And that smile tells her that even for a mere second, the mere second where she held him, made him very happy.

And that he loves her in return.

**a/n: I told you I didn't understand what I was writing anymore. Okay, for a little light; I got the idea that maybe the guardian angel assigned from birth might be the one who is responsible for taking the soul of the mortal at death. Saying that, I think I'm having another idea..**


End file.
